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Living in San Francisco

The Basics

Housing. As a UCSF Graduate Student or Postdoc, you will make your own housing arrangement in the Bay Area. Several links present on this page should help you find the perfect spot. Often, apartments become available as other postdocs and students from the previous years relocate, and we can spread the word of your impending arrival. The SF Gate has a great SF neighborhoods page you'll wanna check out. The UCSF Parnassus Campus is inbetween Cole Valley and the Inner Sunset, and just a few blocks from Haight Street and the Golden Gate Park. The UCSF housing website is an excellent resource, though you may also search Craig's List. Finally, check out the open source geographic data provided by GeoCommons. This depicts a fog map, crime spots, local grocers and much more.

Transportation. Public transportation within San Francisco is pretty good and you don't need an automobile. However, having a car makes those getaways to the wine country and mountains easier. For some, an attractive alternative may be CityCarShare or ZipCar, especially for quick trips to the supermarkets like Costco and Target. Parking in the city and especially near the hospital is at a premium. Off-street parking at the hospital costs $20.00 per day; therefore, it's preferably to live within walking distance or use public transportation. If you plan to commute by bus from a location in San Francisco, a monthly bus pass is around $45. Public transportation from locations outside San Francisco would be significantly more expensive. There is free shuttle bus service between the UCSF campuses Monday through Friday. Many graduate students, postdocs, and technicians live in the Inner Sunset, which is more affordable and walking distance to the Parnassus Campus and its busy Shuttle stop hub to other UCSF campuses.

Activities at UCSF

Postdoc and Student Organizations. Most, if not all UCSF research, is at the graduate and post graduate level. Students and Postdocs may find lots of organized activities through their UCSF sponsored associations. Information on upcoming events may be posted at their site, but you'll see lots of flyers posted around the campus telling you what's up and where it is. Check out the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and the Postdoctoral Scholars Association and the Graduate Student Association. There are a lot of great links to useful information at these sites and I recommend that you get on the relevant listservs.

Sports and Athletics at the UCSF Campus. Fitness and Recreation are important activities around here. Milberry Student Union maintains a pool, racquetball courts, basketball and volleyball facilities, and a spacious fitness center with a full line of Cybex weight machines, aerobic machines and free weights. Intramural team sports, martial arts and aerobic classes are scheduled, as well as a syllabus of recreational classes. Outdoors Unlimited sponsors ski cabins at Tahoe and Heavenly Valley, rents camping and aquatic equipment, and teaches classes in sail boarding on San Francisco Bay.

Weather. The weather in San Francisco is usually cool and moderate all year. Other parts of the Bay Area experience clear and very warm weather in the summer months. Outdoor activities can be enjoyed year round. Our campus is located in an area of the city that is well known for cool, windy, foggy summers. The warmest weather in the local campus area comes in the fall and spring.

Just for Fun. Check out the Arts and Events webpage for UCSF sponsored events.